Who is John Poindexter?

1of4John Poindexter, owner of Cibolo Creek Ranch, speaks to reporters the day after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at the West Texas Resort ranch Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, in Shafter, Texas. Poindexter says that he, along with the other members of the weekend's group had an enjoyable evening on Friday before Scalia was found the next morning to be unresponsive in his room.Photo: Matthew Busch /Getty Images

4of4Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died at the aage of 79 at a luxury ranch resort in west Texas, south of Marfa.Photo: J. Scott Applewhite /Associated Press

Still single at age 61, Houston businessman John Poindexter is concerned about his legacy.

Will he be remembered as a combat-tested Vietnam veteran who became a wealthy industrialist and rancher with a passion for preserving some of the most majestic lands in West Texas?

Or will he go down in Texas folklore as the rich guy who wanted to buy a pristine part of Big Bend Ranch State Park?

Despite the controversy that erupted over his unsuccessful attempt in August to acquire 46,000 acres from the state park system, Poindexter said last week he may revive his purchase offer after next year’s GOP gubernatorial contest, which he claims had a role in dooming the initial deal.

Poindexter drew fire from environmentalists and park conservation groups that said they were ambushed by the unpopular proposal. He argued then, and still contends, the sale would enable the cash-strapped Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to acquire several pockets of private land within the park. The land, if sold, would be publicly accessible and environmentally protected, he insists.

“There’s no urgency about this. I’ll be there the rest of my life. I have 30 or more years to live out there, and I can wait,” Poindexter said.

He can patiently pursue that objective because he enjoys financial success as sole owner of J.B. Poindexter & Co., a diversified manufacturer with about $650 million a year in revenue. Formed in 1985, the company headquarters are in a downtown Houston skyscraper, but Poindexter said he stays in the city only one or two days a week.

His homestead, voting rights and second business are in Presidio County at his Cibolo Creek Ranch, a 25,000-acre resort near Shafter in some of Texas’ most desolate, rugged and scenic country.

The resort, part of a longhorn cattle ranch, is promoted as the “quintessential Texas experience” with accommodations in Mexican-style buildings and activities ranging from hunting to hiking and horseback riding. Poindexter said the average stay for a couple runs $430 a day, including meals with wine.

Poindexter acquired the ranch about 15 years ago — after acquiring his wealth, first as a Wall Street venture capitalist and later as owner of several companies that make truck bodies, delivery vehicles, truck accessories and other products with brand names including Morgan Corp., Leer, Pace, Raider and Century.

A third-generation Texan and native Houstonian, Poindexter said he’s the product of “conventional upbringing” and a family with a legacy of military service dating to 1654. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas, he took a job in New York City for a year before enlisting in the Army for four years, serving as a captain until 1971.

After the war, Poindexter said, he used G.I. Bill benefits, “and a few dollars I had saved up,” to earn a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in economics from New York University. He then went to work for Wall Street banking and investment firms.

“My most well-known investment was a middle-stage investment in Apple Computer, which is very lucrative for us,” he said.

The high life in the Big Apple was idyllic for a time.

“It was one of those lives that people read about — a brownstone in Manhattan, a home in Watermill, N.Y., the Hamptons, trips to Europe and the like, mixed with some very hard work,” he said.

But it wasn’t everything Poindexter wanted. He pulled up stakes and returned to his hometown in 1987.

“I moved back to Houston because at that time it was my plan to be married and I knew it was never going to happen with the life I was leading in New York City, “ he said.

He also wanted to satisfy a profound urge to acquire land — lots of it.

“When I moved back from New York City to Texas, one of my prime reasons for doing so was to acquire a sizable and interesting rural property that I could improve in some very meaningful and respected way,” he said.

“I looked around the state, and the region that captured my heart was the Big Bend. The instant that I saw it I knew that was my future. It was merely a question of finding the right property,” he said.

With several purchases beginning in 1990, he formed Cibolo Creek Ranch through his second wholly owned company, Southwest Holdings. While developing the posh resort, Poindexter said he has safeguarded the property’s historic and archaeological features, including frontier-era cavalry forts and traces of ancient habitation. He also has attempted to return some of the arid land to its grasslands state.

“We have a wall full of awards for historic preservation, architectural excellence, conservation and public service,” he said.

Neighbor’s lawsuit

Yet, one neighbor, John Boerschig of Houston, has a trespass lawsuit pending against Southwest Holdings, alleging Poindexter built a fence and bulldozed a road on Boerschig’s land to gain access to a portion of Cibolo Creek Ranch. Poindexter is fighting the suit, saying no harm was done.

“It’s when good intentions run awry on another person’s property — without their permission — that tends to violate rights, “ said Houston attorney Hank McCreight, Boerschig’s lawyer. He added: “How much can Goliath do to David without David picking that rock up?”

But Poindexter has made friends in West Texas as well.

“He has a real positive reputation out here,” said Presidio County Judge Jerry Agan.

“He brought the Cibolo Creek Ranch back from ruins. It was just a wasteland out there, and he’s turned it into an oasis. It’s brought a lot of attention to Presidio County, and he’s always concerned about what’s going on here.”

Agan was among those supporting Poindexter’s bid to acquire the state parkland.

“I was hoping he’d bring it back on the tax rolls,” he said.

Poindexter said he views the potential acquisition of the neighboring parkland as a “rest-of-my-life restoration project. What appeals to me is not conservation so much but restoration. Restoration is so much more challenging, so much more demanding, so much more expensive that it is, for me, more fulfilling,” he said.

Heated testimony

Poindexter said he first sought to acquire a portion of the 300,000-acre state park as a way to smooth a jagged boundary between his land and the park, which are west of the even larger Big Bend National Park.

“This transaction started out as nothing more than a minor fence line rectification. That’s all that it was,” he said.

Talks with the state touched on public access to the 46,000 acres, water rights and protection of wildlife.

When the staff-endorsed proposal reached the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission agenda Aug. 26, it sparked heated public testimony on the $2 million sale price that some witnesses deemed inadequate, the largely secret negotiations and the unpopular notion of selling any parkland.

After the deal collapsed, Poindexter — who thought about running for Congress in 1999 — belittled his political acumen.

“I question my fundamental political capabilities — not my ability to serve the public interest, not my education or business achievements or any other aspect of my life. But I do question whether I have natural political skills,” Poindexter said. “If I do, they were not much in evidence in this recent matter.”

The flap left Poindexter with what he called “a severely damaged reputation” that he intends to repair.

Heritage

“I have worked very hard all of my life, whether in the military or in school or in business or in West Texas, to be a positive and productive component of society. I’ve built a company that is a good employer for 4,000 people. I’ve built a property in West Texas which is an award winner in several categories. And I want to leave behind me an unblemished and proud heritage when I’m gone, “ he said.

“I don’t have children, so my heritage will be what I’ve accomplished, and I take very, very, very personally my obligation to rebuild my reputation in the eyes of persons that I respect, or want to respect me and my works.”

The backlash, which often focused on the surprise disclosure that the sale was being considered, also exposed public concerns about the fate of the Big Bend parkland and the struggling state park system. It brought to light complaints about a 1999 controlled burn on Poindexter’s ranch that harmed neighbors’ property; concerns about scarce water sources and protection of archaeological assets.

Even so, Poindexter said “I don’t leave those events behind with any rancor or any animosity toward anyone at all. I feel as though I was fairly treated.” And Poindexter said he remains hopeful the state will acquire numerous pieces of private land within the park, which leave it looking “like Swiss cheese.”

The 46,000 acres that the state considered selling him wasn’t being sought to expand his resort facilities, as some critics asserted, he added.

“The development potential - as was so frequently cited in the hearing - for this property is as close to zero as anything could reasonably be in the state, “ he said.

‘Very wise to wait’

If he revives his offer, it won’t be until after next year’s gubernatorial primary, and the state’s decision process is sure to be more transparent, Poindexter said.

“It would be very wise to wait until the commission has decided upon the procedures and until the primary season has passed, because I noticed there was an exchange of views between the comptroller and the governor about this transaction,” he said.

He was referring to comments made by Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who opposed the sale saying it was the result of a “backdoor, secret” deal. Strayhorn, who is challenging Gov. Rick Perry’s re-election bid in the March 7 GOP contest, claimed Perry fostered the ill-fated plan.

Perry said the negotiations were entirely in the commission’s hands, and last week Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said the idea should only be reconsidered in an open process that fully weighs “the highest and best use for that land.”

Poindexter said he appreciates the public’s resistance to selling any parkland.

“An emotion like that is, to me, rational. I wouldn’t sell a square foot of Cibolo Creek Ranch,” he said.